Nadal to miss Australian Open as virus puts comeback on hold

TENNIS

Novak Djokovic hits a return in his semifinal victory over David Ferrer at the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.

Photo By Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal, out of action since June, is shooting for a late February return.

Madrid --

Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open because of a stomach virus, further delaying his comeback after being sidelined since June.

The Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam tournament, begins Jan. 14. The virus kept Nadal from making his return at Abu Dhabi this week.

The Spaniard said Friday that his withdrawals had nothing to do with the tendinitis in his left knee that forced him to take a break last summer after his second-round loss at Wimbledon to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol. Nadal also missed the London Olympics.

"My knee is much better, and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors," Nadal said. "But this virus didn't allow me to practice this past week, and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha (site of next week's Qatar Open) and the Australian Open."

The former No. 1 player hopes to return at the event in Acapulco, Mexico, starting Feb. 27. However, he did not rule out playing an earlier tournament if his recovery goes well.

"I always said that my return to competition will be when I am in the right conditions to play," he said. "And after all this time away from the courts, I'd rather not accelerate the comeback and prefer to do things well."

Nadal, ranked No. 4, won the Australian Open in 2009. Last year, he lost to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in a title match that lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes, the longest recorded Grand Slam final.

World Tennis Championship: Djokovic routed David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3 to reach the final of the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Djokovic will face Spain's Nicolas Almagro in the final. A last-minute replacement for Nadal, Almagro rallied from a set down to beat Janko Tipsarevic 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second semifinal.

Djokovic wrapped up the first set in 26 minutes. He struggled early in the second as Ferrer broke the defending champion to go up 2-1. But Djokovic broke back courtesy of a delicate drop shot and several crisp winners to make it 2-2. He then broke the fifth-ranked Spaniard a second time to go up 4-2 on the way to an easy victory.